Guardian | Camp Cretaceous

End of the Line

It didn't matter how hard she tried, Brooklynn's legs would not move. It felt like she'd been bolted to the ground as she watched the horrific scene unfold.

A scream tore from her throat as the slick blood caused Ben to lose his grip on Azriel's hand. But she let out a long breath of relief when Darius managed to catch Ben at the last second.

Switching to his unharmed hand, Azriel reached down and grasped the dangling boy's wrist, the powerful muscle of his forearm contracting, rippling, with the effort of hauling Ben up to safety. Darius, gritting his teeth, pulled with all his might, but a Pterosaur with an infected-looking leg zipped past, its beak clipping Azriel's fingers.

The Frenchman let out a sharp curse, his grip loosening a fraction. A fraction too long, as all the weight transferred to the unprepared Darius.

Azriel swung his wounded arm down again in a desperate attempt to catch Ben, his bloodied fingers grazing the boy's before Ben slipped through his grasp and plummeted into the darkness below. A Pterosaur screeched as it dove after him.

Brooklynn covered her mouth in shock. Kenji fell to his knees, disbelief etched on his face. Bumpy approached the edge, letting out a low groan, while the Velociraptor whimpered softly, nudging its head against the baby Ankylosaur.

Brooklynn watched as Azriel pushed himself to his feet, dragging his hand over his face. His hat was gone, fallen just before Ben. "He's gone," Yaz muttered in disbelief, touching her head. "He's gone..."

"I won't believe it!" Sammy sobbed, hurrying to the edge, but Yaz stopped her. "No!"

Darius stared at his hands as if he no longer recognised them. Meanwhile, Azriel's bloodied fist trembled. Without a word, he turned away from the shattered window and strode toward an intact section of glass, and drove his right fist into it, causing cracks to spread around his hand. Just one blow that surely broke his hand, or at least his fingers.

Other than that, Azriel showed no signs of anger, or grief, or anything. Nothing at all. And Brooklynn knew it was for their sake—he was holding it all in, offering something solid for the rest of them to lean on.

Suddenly, Darius shouted, "The monorail is going back!" They hit a sharp turn, knocking everyone off their feet. The vlogger grunted and demanded what he meant. "When we switched tracks, we ended up on one headed north." The dino-kid and Azriel hurried to the control car, the Frenchman falling into the seat and trying to stop the monorail.

"Merde!" Azriel swore. "We need to get off. Now!"

Getting up off the floor, Brooklynn leaned outside and searched for anything. She saw it. "Oh! The track dips down up ahead. We can jump there!"

"What?" "Jump?" "We can't, it's too far to jump!"

"It's the only way," Darius insisted. Azriel stood from his seat, and the two jogged toward the shattered window. Kenji strapped on Ben's fanny pack and held Bumpy close, while Yasmina cracked her neck and Brooklynn picked the chirping Velociraptor up, which clung to her jacket with its razor-sharp talons, whimpering. "One... two... three. Now!"

Azriel didn't hesitate for even half a heartbeat before leaping from the window, the others following a moment later after bracing themselves. Screaming, they plunged into the dense jungle below, branches clawing at their clothes as they hurtled through the trees. The fall lasted only a few seconds before they crashed hard into the earth, rolling.

Brooklynn lost her grip on the Velociraptor, which went spiralling through the air, shrieking and hissing in terror as it tumbled across the ground.

Cursing and with her bones aching, the vlogger struggled to her knees, rubbing her head. A jolt of panic shot through her when she realised Azriel's cap was missing, but she gasped with relief when she spotted it lying beside her, just within reach. Quickly grabbing the hat, she put it on and tugged the brim down, taking comfort in the action. It looked like Azriel had already assessed them, deciding everyone was okay—at least for the moment. His focus shifted to his dinosaur, carefully running his hands along its spine, making sure it wasn't broken, as the Velociraptor yipped.